Success Stories

Here is what Mrs. Belinda had to say about her experience with the SBDC. “Mr. Del Gallo along with Al Henry were instrumental in helping me with my business plan and connecting me to a bank. They were eager to help a small business, like mine. The support and guidance I received forming the vision for Prompt Occupational Healthcare made the loan process bearable.”

Derrell Lee and John Pace are U.S. Military Veterans who graduated from Harford Community College. They are two passionate entrepreneurs with a passion for healthy living and fitness. They came up with a revolutionary idea that they knew would be a success. However, before pursuing this venture head-first, they sought advice on how to properly format their business and construct a business plan to enable them to receive the financing needed.

Early 2015 after being first denied a business loan to start a restaurant, Flavor owners Julia and Vanna came to the Baltimore city SBDC Center for assistance and guidance to secure a business loan and launch their ‘lifetime’ dream: a full upscale restaurant.

Wear Your Spirit Warehouse's Ali Banholzer Grows Her Business with Assistance from Small Business Development Center at College of Southern Maryland. Business Grew by More Than 60 Percent Since Move One year ago, Ali Banholzer of Huntingtown was at a turning point with her business. Banholzer owns Wear Your Spirit Warehouse, a small, local business that creates personalized, promotional gear like T-shirts, mugs, hats, banners and more, much of which is for area school teams and clubs, youth sports teams and …

Eighteen years ago, Valerie Deptula was considering whether to buy a small natural food store in Leonardtown. Would it be a good investment? What were her chances of success? Once Deptula received the store’s cash flow statement, her first move was to take the report to the Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

It was 2002 when Deborah Taylor attended SBDC's Start Right for Success class. One week later she met with Business Consultant, Bill Hitte. Deborah came to the meeting with industry experience, a business plan including researched startup costs, a tentative location and family support.

One week later she met with Business Consultant, Bill Hitte. Deborah came to the meeting with industry experience, a business plan including researched startup costs, a tentative location and family support.

Although this is a relatively new business, BEKÔZ has wasted no time in fulfilling their mission of being a business that is willing to tackle any challenge; no job is too small or too big as long as it has a cause and mission to reach others.

From the beginning, Glynis and Sheebah recognized that in order to succeed and grow they needed help along the way.

Elizabeth Mason, President/Founder, affectionately known as “BJ”, with motivation and information from attending the classes at the SBDC and coaching from Melissa Dent, Business Consultant, restarted Irish Seams as an LLC in 2013. Initially, BJ had been working the business as a hobby and a sole proprietorship, since 2009.

Richard (Rich) Jones and Timothy (Tim) Williams became a client of Al Henry and Ryan Del Gallo at the Small Business Development Center in October of 2015 when they dove into the idea of opening a government contracting based logistics company. When it comes to experience, Rich and Tim do not fall short. Rich has over 14 years of experience with top contracting companies such as Northrop Grumman, DS2, URS, and Data Monitor System. Tim is an accomplished and adaptable leader with 25 plus years of service in the United States Army, focused on transitioning managerial and organizational skills to a position guiding operations and training programs.

Randy Douglas, the founder of Douglas Security Technologies LLC, is an inventor from Aberdeen, MD who contacted the Northern Region of Maryland SBDC with the hopes of bringing his patented mobile technology to market. With the help of SBDC counselors and an SBDC event, Douglas is closer to his dream than he ever expected.

When Regina “Gina” Della’s brother, Rich, was struck head-on by a drunk driver in 2002, he was placed in a coma and deemed paralyzed. Although doctors recommended cutting off life-support, Gina refused to give up. Gina spent months researching and investigating recovery methods. Against all odds and with family support, Rich miraculously recovered due to a unique device called Quadriciser and intense one-on-one therapeutic exercises that Gina was able to utilize for her brother. After being an eye witness to her brother’s advances, Gina desired to bring the benefits of the Quadriciser and therapeutic rehabilitation to others who have been suffering from severe physical disabilities. The Quadriciser creates a cross-crawl pattern using all four limbs which results in stimulation of the brain and muscle function.

Jennifer and Dan McGrath are the owners of Galvinell Meat Company which has been a staple in the Cecil County, MD community since it was founded in 1967. When the SBDC was called into Galvinell’s in early 2015, owners Jennifer and Dan were feeling overwhelmed with the mounds of work to be done and workplace organization. Being an old school butcher shop today is more difficult than what one may think: competition, diet fads, and rising cost of goods is something that affects their business every day.

When it came time to find a special person to be the new owner in 2008, then owners confided in their SBDC Business Consultant, Bill Hitte. They had been relying on SBDC for advice and education to grow Fran's NU Image since 2001. It was a natural progression and a great fit for another SBDC Client, Mimi Quade. With full disclosure, SBDC Consultant, Bill Hitte, was able to help bring both parties together.

Tamera Rush became a client of Al Henry at the Small Business Development Center inFebruary of 2014 as she became interested in purchasing an existing technology company inHarford County. The company was appealing to Tamera because she had a background in technology with the confidence to grow the business and make the acquisition successful. The established company had several 1099 employees and government contracts in place. With the help of Mr. Henry, she knew she could develop a business plan to grow the company.

Brenda Trice has been crocheting most of her life, and knitting for several years. A former teacher, she came to the Maryland Small Business Development & Technology Center-Eastern Region at Salisbury University (SBDTC) last August for direction in opening her own yarn shop in historic downtown Berlin, MD, a major tourist destination site just 15 minutes west of Ocean City.

Edel became a client of Al Henry at the Small Business Development Center in August of 2014 with the vision of purchasing a bridal shop. After weeks of going through the processes of investigating an established business and working closely with Mr. Henry, it was determined that the business in question was not financially stable. Thankfully, Edel was able to move on and changed her business plan to opening her own bridal boutique from the ground up.

On October 20, 2016, the Calvert County Chamber of Commerce recognized Mully’s Brewery as the 2016 “New Business of the Year”. That annual award recognizes a chamber member business which has been open less than 4 years. Mully’s Brewery opened to the public in October 2013. It is owned and operated by Jason and Cindy Mullikin. Located in Prince Frederick, MD.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is proud to share that Michael Steele, Owner of Motorbriiz, is the winner of the 2nd Annual Crab Pot Pitch. Crab Pot is a joint venture of the Southern Maryland Innovation and Technology (SMIT) meetup and PaxSpace. Crab Pot 2016 is a Southern Maryland Pitch Contest that was held on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.

McClintock Distillery is scheduled to open Spring 2016 with the cooperative efforts of the city of Frederick and the Frederick SBDC. The new owners want to continue the legacy of McClintock Young by restoring a 5,000 square foot downtown location to produce craft gin, vodka, and rum, followed by whiskey in the next two years.

Keffa Coffee, LLC is importers of specialty-grade Ethiopian coffee, headquartered near the Port of Baltimore. We are proud to offer the most extraordinary and unique selection of Ethiopian coffees. With our strong commitment to sustainability, transparency, and the improvement of farmer livelihoods, our business focuses on the needs of our partners--specialty growers at origin and roasters in the United States who share our commitment and our passion for great coffee.

As she has stated, Devora Kimelman-Block became a businesswoman by chance. An idea for a business dropped into her lap and she decided to quit her non-profit job in the education sector and take a chance with the new business venture. KOL Foods, Devora’s company, is selling Kosher grass fed beef, and other Kosher animal products on line. She has established suppliers in the USA and in foreign markets. She established a fulfillment location in Pennsylvania. She has grown her revenues each year in business.

Communication Apptitude’s owners first came to the SBTDC in April 2013 for business plan training. Additional needs including some special business needs surfaced and were addressed in subsequent business counseling sessions.

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The Maryland SBDC Program is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. The support given by the U.S. Small Business Administration through such funding does not constitute an express or implied endorsement of any of the cosponsor's or participants' opinions, products, or services. All of SBA's programs and services are extended to the public on a non discriminatory basis.

About Us

The Maryland SBDC is an accredited member of a national network. In addition to our support of small business development, the SBDC is also accredited to provide intellectual property and technology commercialization assistance to businesses in the technology industry.